


shakespeared through the heart

by yehetno



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: M/M, afaf3, can be read either way (but i wrote it as romantic), i think it is supposed to be fluff?, if i didn't have such a myungjin problem this ship would be up there, in which jinjin is kind of a shakespeare nerd, it's a good ship, semi-ambiguous in terms of platonic v romantic, written for astrofantastic's valentine's day fic exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-17 12:31:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9323750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yehetno/pseuds/yehetno
Summary: Minhyuk meetssomeoneon a fire escape.  Stranger things have happened.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **this was written for the astrofantastic's valentine's day fic exchange event.**
> 
> prompt: "I found you perched on the railing of my fire escape reading Hamlet and I have no idea how you got up here what are you doing au"
> 
> I don't know who this is dedicated to, but this is yours to cherish, my friend. I hope you like it.
> 
> (I'm sorry if there are any typos or missed words.)

The evening starts with Yoon Sanha's poor attempt to throw a party for Kim Myungjun. In hindsight, Minhyuk should not have given him the okay to host a party of more than ten people in their tiny apartment.  It has nothing to with Myungjun, even if he is more of _Sanha's_ friend than anything else.  Myungjun is an extrovert, plain and simple.  So, when Minhyuk says party, he does not mean a get-together with a few people and a card game.  When he says party, he is describing twenty-plus people crammed into his living room being so loud that Minhyuk is afraid they will get a noise complaint.

For further perspective, Sanha and Minhyuk's shared apartment is barely built to contain for more than four people at a time.  Two bedrooms, a small kitchen area, a cramped bathroom, and a moderately sized living room comprise the vast majority of their square footage; there is a closet or two unaccounted for as well as a small hallway and the foyer.  Limited physical space coupled Minhyuk's introversion spell a foreseeable disaster that somehow neither Minhyuk or Sanha really thought about.

The party itself is not very well planned.  Sanha has maybe three bags of chips, but the number of guests keeps multiplying.  It almost feels as though Myungjun told everyone and their mother about his birthday party.  The ambiance is alright at the beginning, but it quickly morphs from the friendly get-together vibe into the pre-rager chatter and tentative dance moves.  It harkens back to high school, to the vibes of a party thrown by teen whose that their parents are out of town for the long weekend.

If Minhyuk was one for the party life, he might actually enjoy it.  Of course, Minhyuk is very much _not_ one for the party life.  Yes, he is amicable and out-going under the right conditions, but on most evenings, he'd rather be in bed reading or watching a movie.  It is roughly around the arrival of the fifteenth person when Minhyuk can no longer continue trying to celebrate Myungjun's birthday.  Three people have already violated his personal bubble, and the flow of the partygoers and wellwishers is steadily increasing.  He is the introversion threshold, the point where he can no longer meet new people and sufficiently engage in small talk.

He finds refuge in his room where the door barricades him from the party, turning the buzz of the party chatter to a low murmur.  He lies on his bed and listens as the party's volume slowly gets louder and louder.  It stirs his stomach, tangling his nerves into a knot of anxiety.  He hates being constricted, despises it actually.  His desire to stretch out and take up space stems from his foray into a dancing during his teenage years, connecting fluid movements with his shoddy training. Well, that and acute claustrophobia, the cause of which Minhyuk is not quite sure.

He gets an idea, a way to relieve the pressure building in his chest.  His window has access to the building's fire escape.  Minhyuk uses it occasionally, and tonight it seems like an easy way to avoid interacting with Myungjun's friends, his acquaintances by proxy.  He unlatches the lock on his window and slides it up, greeted by a cold breeze of almost-sping air.  (Myungjun's birthday falls in late winter, so late in winter that spring is knocking on the door, but the weather hasn't quite caught onto the season change.)

Minhyuk climbs out of the window of his room, itching to escape the claustrophobia of being trapped in his own room.  He solidly places his foot on the grating of the fire escape, ducking under his pushed up window, and leaving the warmth of his room.  Outside, he can breathe again, cool air permeating his lungs, seeping into his veins to calm him.  Normally, it is quiet on the fire escape, perhaps the stray honk from late-night traffic.  The background noise of the city is rendered silent by the voice coming from his right.

He can see the form of the stranger, sitting on the railing of the fire escape, his feet anchoring him to the iron supports with a book in one hand and the other trying to work out the rhythm of the words being spoken aloud.  The stranger is oblivious to Minhyuk's presence.

"By sleep, to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.  'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.  To die, to sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream; aye, there's the rub--" The stranger cuts himself off with a frown, " _A_ _ye_ , there's the rub, no, no. Aye,  _there's_ the rub, for in that sleep of death, what dreams--"

"Is that Hamlet?"

The stranger drops his book with a metallic clank and curses under his breath, "You scared me.  What are you doing here?"

Minhyuk cocks his head, lips quirking into a confused smile, "Shouldn't I be asking that?  Seeing as this is  _my_ fire escape."

He hops down from the rail and picks up his book, "You have a point."

"Are you going to answer my question?"

The stranger tilts his head to the side and purses his lips. "Yes," he pauses, "it was Hamlet.  Good ear."

Something about this stranger puts Minhyuk at ease.  His cheeky response and odd playfulness undercut the tension and mistrust.  Without meaning to, he breathes out a chuckle and clarifies, "I meant are you going to tell me what you're doing here?  And how you got here for that matter?"

He clicks his tongue and leans against the railing tentatively, "Well, I'm here to read Hamlet, obviously.  Did no one tell you that this specific fire escape is  _the_ place to come read and absorb Shakespeare?"

"It's funny that I haven't noticed all these people coming and going from the fire escape connected to my window,"  Minhyuk replies, taking a pause.  "I suppose you're not going to tell me how you got up here then?"

The stranger shakes his head, "A man must maintain that  _je ne sais quoi_ , his mysteriousness.  Leave all those he encounters with a sense of wonder."

"Well, do you have a name?" Minhyuk asks, "Or do you also need to keep that a secret in order to maintain your intrigue?"

The stranger pulls his book to his chest and drums his fingers against it in deliberation.  It's not as though Minhyuk can claim he isn't interested.  The stranger certainly knows how to pique someone's interest.  He pops his lips and sticks out his hand, "Park Jinwoo."

Minhyuk tentatively accepts the handshake, gripping Jinwoo's surprisingly warm fingers.  He nods to himself before saying, "And  _why_ are you reading Hamlet on my fire escape?"

"Well, I think that since I've told you my name, it is only fair for you to tell me yours before I answer any more of your questions."

Minhyuk crosses his arms and straightens up, "What if I want to be mysterious?"

Jinwoo scrunches his face, gaze flicking between Minhyuk and his window, "I know where you live."

Minhyuk looks back at his window with a grimace and turns to Jinwoo.  "Minhyuk," he replies begrudgingly.  "Now tell me why you're reading Hamlet at this specific location."

"Well,  _Minhyuk,_  I am taking part in a local production of 'the Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'.  So I'm memorizing lines.  As to the particular location, I snuck out of that--" Jinwoo points at the other window letting out to the fire escape, a window which just so happens to belong to Sanha, "--window to practice lines instead of socializing."

"You're friends with Myungjun then?"

"Friend of a friend," Jinwoo shrugs and plops down.  He pats the grating next to him, inviting Minhyuk to sit next to him.

Minhyuk walks over and settles down next to Jinwoo, "Sanha will flip when he finds out that a random stranger was in his room."

Jinwoo chuckles, opening his book, "Why are you, dear Minhyuk, out on this fire escape with me?"

"The fire escape isn't as claustrophobia-inducing as being trapped in my room."

Jinwoo hums as though he understands, "Parties aren't your thing?"

Minhyuk shakes his head, "Are they your thing?"

A chuckle, "Normally, yeah." He holds up his copy of Hamlet, "But, uh, Shakespeare is always good company."

"I always thought that Shakespeare was boring," Minhyuk whispers, nudging Jinwoo with his elbow.

Jinwoo drops the book into his lap and turns to Minhyuk with a shocked face.  He shifts his position so that he faces Minhyuk and grabs Minhyuk's hand.  He pats it and somberly says, "I don't know who taught you about Shakespeare, but they have done my friend Bill a great injustice and, by default, done you a great injustice.  Shakespeare is..." Jinwoo pauses and seems to search for the right words, "music.  Iambic pentameter is a difficult medium, but Shakespeare masters it and rarely deviates from the stressed/non-stressed format." Jinwoo stops himself, although Minhyuk can tell that he wants to say more.

The odd part is that Minhyuk could probably listen to Jinwoo talk about the way that he admires Shakespeare's artistry for a while.  He can sense an underlying passion in Jinwoo's words.  It makes his monolog about Shakespeare hundreds of time more interesting than those of his college literature professor.  None of his words are alienating and pretentious; Jinwoo feels like the kind of person that would explain the difficult and archaic words kindly.

"Got a crush on Shakespeare?" Minhyuk jokes lightly. 

Jinwoo smiles, "Bill is the love of my life as an esteemed member of an amateur theater group."

Minhyuk and Jinwoo talk for what feels like an extremely long time.  Minhyuk's cheeks no longer tingle in the cold night air.  He learns that Jinwoo studied comparative literature and sound design in college, which Jinwoo begrudgingly admits may have been influenced by his general love of theater.  Neither of which are very useful at his day job--not that he actually tells Minhyuk what he does for a living, choosing to "stay mysterious".

On the other hand, Minhyuk shares that his job in fairly dull, working as a receptionist at dentist's office.  He would rather try doing something he is passionate about.  A comment which leads him down the rabbit hole of explaining how much he misses dancing and that a broken leg derailed his dreams to attend a school for the arts in high school.

They get so carried away with talking about fairly benign parts of their lives that it takes Sanha turning the light on in his room for them to realize how long they've been outside.

"If the party is breaking up, I should probably head home," Jinwoo sighs, slowly getting up and offering Minhyuk a hand.

Minhyuk nods and pulls his window back open, motioning for Jinwoo to follow him in, "Come on, Sanha won't take it kindly if you go back into the building through his room.  And I'm not heartless enough to make you climb down the fire escape."

"Oh!" Jinwoo giggles, "Inviting me into your room already!  You move fast."

Minhyuk hits Jinwoo in the chest once he sets both feet in Minhyuk's room.  He walks Jinwoo to the front door.

"Hey, we should exchange numbers," Jinwoo says as he leans against the door, lips quirking into a wide smile.

"Why?"

Jinwoo's confidence doesn't waver at all, not in the way Minhyuk would like it to.  "Because we totes bonded over Hamlet and being on your fire escape.  It's the start of a bromance, a meet-cute if you will.  And if I don't get your number, there are bound to be numerous misunderstandings and near misses.  If my studies in romantic comedies have taught me  _anything_ , it's that you need to take a proactive stance when it comes to people that you want to keep around instead of waiting 90 minutes to come to the conclusion that you belong together."

Minhyuk sticks out his hand and wiggles his fingers, "Phone."

Jinwoo hands it over with a proud smile. Minhyuk diligently enters his number before handing it back, "Goodnight, Jinwoo."

He pockets his phone, "Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say good night till it be morrow."

"Okay, Romeo," says Minhyuk, rolling his eyes.  He opens the door for Jinwoo with a small smile stretching across his face.

"Actually, Juliet spoke that line.  One day, I'll make sure that you get there." Jinwoo promises.  He bites his lip as he leaves.  "I'll call you."

Minhyuk quietly closes the door, stifling the urge to giggle like a five-year-old.  The smile on his face doesn't feel like it will be fading for a while.  He lingers for a moment too long.

Sanha pops out of his room and asks, "Who was that?"

"Someone new."

**Author's Note:**

> *Shakespeare excerpts from:  
> -Hamlet, Act III, Scene I [spoken by Hamlet] (read by Jinwoo when Minhyuk sees him)  
> -Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II [spoken by Juliet] (said by Jinwoo as a farewell)
> 
> ** "je ne sais quoi" is french for "i don't know what" and is generally used in english to reference something indescribable but is a desirable attribute.
> 
> i hope that you enjoyed it! everyone is free to comment/kudos/bookmark. chat with me on [ tumblr](http://yehetno.tumblr.com). bye lovely souls!


End file.
